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Anyway, history will be australian open Sunday’s final is Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz On the verge of achieving two career-defining achievements.
Djokovic returns to Australian Open final for 11th time after one of the tournament’s most dramatic semi-finals Stunning defending champion Jannik Sinner The five-set battle ended with a score of one to one, breaking the independent record of 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Djokovic, 38, is also seeking to become the oldest-ever Australian Open champion.
World number one Alcaraz, on the other hand, could become the youngest person ever to complete a career Grand Slam at the age of 22 Reached Australian Open final for the first time. The Spaniard won in 5 hours and 27 minutes Alexander Zverev Friday’s five-set affair was the longest semifinal in tournament history.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have met twice before in Grand Slam finals, with Alcaraz beating him twice at Wimbledon. But Djokovic won an epic Olympic final in Paris 18 months ago and then beat Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of last year’s Australian Open. After ending Sinner’s dominance and breaking the duopoly of Sinner and Alcaraz in the finals, no one would think Djokovic was left out this time.
When does Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz take place?
The Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will start at 8:30am GMT (UK time).
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The game will be broadcast live online on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the UK.
In the United States, ESPN and Tennis Channel will broadcast live.
Novak Djokovic VS Carlos Alcaraz
This will be the 10th tour-level match between Djokovic and Alcaraz, and their sixth in a best-of-five-set series. Djokovic currently leads 5-4, but Alcaraz won their last match in the US Open semifinals in straight sets.
Prior to this, Djokovic had won all four of their encounters on hard courts. Alcaraz’s previous two victories over Djokovic were in the Wimbledon finals in 2023 and 2024. They have met once before at the Australian Open, with Djokovic winning in the quarterfinals last year.
2026: Australian Open Final (Outdoor Hard Court) – ?
2025: US Open semifinals (outdoor hard court) – Alcaraz won 6-4 7-6 6-2
2025: Australian Open quarter-finals (outdoor hard court) – Djokovic wins 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4
2024: Olympic final (clay court) – Djokovic wins 7-6 7-6
2024: Wimbledon final (court) – Alcaraz won 6-2 6-2 7-6
2023: ATP Year-End Finals Semi-finals (Indoor Hard Court) – Djokovic wins 6-3 6-2
2023: Cincinnati final (outdoor hard court) – Djokovic wins 5-7 7-6 7-6
2023: Wimbledon Final (Grass) – Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6 6-1 2-6 6-4
2023: French Open semi-finals (clay court) – Djokovic wins 6-2 5-7 6-1 6-1
2022: Madrid semi-final (clay court) Alcaraz won 6-7 7-5 7-6
What happened in the semifinals?
This could be one of the most dramatic days since the Australian Open. First, Carlos Alcaraz The world number one kept alive his career Grand Slam hopes by defeating Alexander Zverev in 5 hours and 27 minutes and proved why he is the king of tennis in five sets.
Alcaraz led third seed Zverev in two close sets and looked set to reach his first Australian Open final without dropping a set, but as he approached the finish line at 4-4 in the third set, the 22-year-old dramatically stood up and stretched his right leg.
With his movement severely restricted, Alcaraz was in serious danger and Zverev forced a fourth set in a tiebreak before winning a tiebreak to take the match to a decider. Zverev then broke Alcaraz’s serve in the first game of the fifth set.
But the Spaniard managed to hold on, giving himself time to recover, and the semi-final became the longest in Australian Open history. As Zverev’s serve progressed, Alcaraz broke serve and won the last four games in a row 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-5.
“This is one of the most demanding games I’ve ever played in my short career,” Alcaraz said. “I’ve been in games like this before, so I know what I have to do. I have to put my heart and soul into the game.”
Then, a 38-year-old Novak Djokovic He became the oldest men’s finalist ever at the Australian Open after ending defending champion Jannik Sinner’s winning streak in another epic five-set match to set up a final with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
On Sunday, Djokovic will go for a record 25 Grand Slam titles and his first in 18 months after a strong performance against 24-year-old Sinner, who has won his last five matches against Djokovic and has won 19 straight matches at the tournament.
In the process, Djokovic went two sets to one to deny Sinner a fourth straight Grand Slam final against rival Alcaraz and proved he is still a legitimate contender for the biggest title in a game in which he has been the underdog.
Djokovic fell two sets behind Lorenzo Musetti in Wednesday’s quarter-finals and his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title appeared to be over, but Djokovic admitted he was on his way home and was “very lucky” as the Italian withdrew with a right leg injury.
“There were a lot of people who doubted me,” he said later. “I see a lot of experts all of a sudden that want to retire me, or have retired me multiple times over the past few years. You know, I want to thank all of them because they give me strength. They give me motivation to prove them wrong, and I had that motivation tonight. To be honest, to me, it’s not surprising.”
What does Novak Djokovic say about Carlos Alcaraz?
“Every time we play, both of our histories are on the line. A Grand Slam final, there’s a lot at stake. But it’s no different than any other major tournament I’ve played.
“My preparation is as it should be, I beat him here last year and it was a tough game too. Let’s see. Let’s see how fresh we both can be. He also had a big game but he is 15, 16 years younger than me. I think it will be easier for him to recover.
“I’m looking forward to it. Look, I play tennis mainly to be able to get to a Grand Slam final. I’m here, so I can’t complain about anything.
“I just wanted to enjoy the moment I had tonight. I’ll think about the final later, but for me it’s almost equal to winning a Grand Slam.”
2026 Australian Open Prize Money
Men’s and women’s singles
Winner: £2.1 million (AU$4.15 million)
How does it compare to the Australian Open?
Men’s and women’s singles champion
US Open (2025): £3.7m
Wimbledon (2025): £3m
Roland Garros (2025): £2.13m
Australian Open (2026): £2.1m